The Justice Annex on Wellington Street, a heritage site built during the Second World War, is heading for demolition.
The Justice Annex, the last of several temporary structures erected by the government during the Second World War, is scheduled to be demolished in the next few months, prompting disappointment — but not opposition — from heritage advocates.
The building was last used in 1998, the same year it received heritage status for being one of the last temporary wartime buildings designed and constructed by the government, according to the Federal Heritage Buildings Review Office.
“It’s a unique surviving example of the many, many buildings which were put up,” says David Jeanes, vice-president of Heritage Ottawa.
While Jeanes says the demolition is unfortunate because of the building’s historical significance, he says the Department of Public Works accepted that the Federal Heritage Review had done everything they could to “find a new use for it” and the building would be demolished as part of the renovations on Parliament Hill.
The building has personal significance for Jeanes, who worked there in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
“I got my first permanent job there,” he says.
Its deconstruction will be the end of the unique, Second World War-era buildings that were built with wood and concrete since steel couldn’t be spared from the war effort, he says.
“They were all made of wood and they were white and they’ve all been taken down over the years,” says Jeanes. The buildings could be seen around the present-day site of City Hall, Dow’s Lake and along Sussex Drive, and were needed to accommodate the additional public servants who joined Ottawa’s workforce during the war, he says.
The Justice Annex’s historical significance is largely due to the fact that it is the last building of its kind, Jeanes says.
However, the demolition of the Justice Annex is of “better value” to the Crown than somehow saving the structure, Public Works spokesman Bill Badets said in an email.
The building is not up to modern safety codes and contains hazardous materials, he added, including asbestos-containing materials, lead, mercury, and silica.
No plans have been released yet as to what will go up in the building’s current location, he says, but a long-term vision for redeveloping the Parliamentary Precinct, including the site of the Justice Annex, was approved in 2007.
“Planning for this area is currently being carried out to determine what facilities and infrastructure will be required to meet the accommodation and operational requirements of Parliament,” Badets said.
Upcoming renovations of Centre Block will require the House of Commons to temporarily relocate to the West Block and force other major shifts of government working spaces lasting several years.
Jeanes says the building could potentially be saved if someone were to offer a new location and purpose for it.
“They’re worried about who’s going to pay the cost of relocating, renovating and maintaining it,” he says. “Both could be expensive.”
No exact date was given for the demolition, but Badets said it will occur this fall.